Wheel wrench



Jlm 1950 o. A. STEINMANN WHEEL WRENCH Filed Jan. 6, 1948 INVENTOR m .m m j a ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 27, 1950 WHEEL WRENCH Oswald A. Steinmann, Bettendorf, Iowa Application January 6, 1948, Serial No. 745

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a tool designed for' use in removing nuts from the axles of wheels, the tool acting in the capacity of the usual Wrench.

An important object of the invention is to provide a tool of this character which may be readily and easily positioned between the usual bolts extended from the hub of a wheel, the tool having an extension to contact with the nut used in securing the wheel, whereby rotary movement of the Wheel will result in a movement of the nut to remove or position the nut, according to the direction of rotation of the wheel.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a tool of this character which will permit of great leverage being applied to rotate the nut, when the nut has become corroded or rusted to render removal of the nut difiicult.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing Figure 1 is an elevational view illustrating a tool constructed in accordance with the invention as positioned within the hub of a wheel, to remove the nut on the axle of the wheel.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the tool.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the device comprises a body portion 5 of substantially rectangular formation, the body portion being provided with curved recesses 6 formed in the side edges thereof and disposed adjacent to the inner end of the body portion. These curved recesses are so constructed that they will closely fit around adjacent bolts of a motor vehicle wheel, as clearly shown by Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Formed integral with the body portion 5, and extending laterally from the end of the body portion adjacent to the curved recesses 6, is a lug 1 which is of a width equal to the width of the body portion, the lug I having a fiat surface 8 designed to engage one fiat surface of a nut to be removed. The opposite surface of the lug I is curved as at 9 to conform to the curvature of the inner surface of the hub ID, to fill the space between the hub 10 and edge of the nut engaged by the tool.

The hand-hold is formed in the body portion, so that the tool may be readily gripped and handled to permit the application of the tool or wrench with facility.

The side edges of the body portion are knurled as at 12, so that the tool may be handled by mechanics with greasy hands, and held against slippage.

In the use of the tool in removing a nut from an axle, the lug l which extends laterally from the body portion, is inserted between the hub l0 and nut I3 mounted on the axle of the vehicle. With the lug in this position, the bolts 14 of the wheel lie within the curved recesses 6, providing a wrench which is firmly held in position.

The wheel is now jacked up and the operator may now rotate the wheel which causes rotation of the nut. It will be obvious that with the use of the tool, great torque may be brought to bear on the nut to rotate or remove the nut even if the nut has become firmly anchored to the axle threads, due to corrosion or rust.

The tool has been described as a wrench preferably for removing stubborn nuts, but it is to be understood that by starting the nut on the threads of the axle and positioning the tool in a manner as described, the wheel may be rotated to rapidly position the nut.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A wrench for removing wheels having spaced bolts extending from the hubs thereof, comprising a. body having a pair of opposed curved notches formed in the side edges thereof adjacent to one end of the body, a lug formed integral with the body extending laterally from one end of the body adjacent to the recesses, said lug having a flat nut engaging surface and a rounded hub-engaging surface, said lug being adapted to be fitted within a wheel hub in contact with a nut of the wheel, the notches falling between adjacent bolts of the wheel, the bolts engaging within the recesses securing the wrench to the wheel for rotating the nut as the wheel is rotated.

OSWALD A. STEINMANN.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 358,886 Russell Mar. 8, 1887 431,641 Beach July 8, 1890 757,613 Gilliland Apr. 19, 1904 1,033,211 Sullivan July 23, 1,912 

